Events unfolded suddenly, and everyone stayed in Xiangyang for two extra hours, with Sha Lifei entering the city and acquiring detailed intelligence.
"The natives suddenly revolted, catching the court off guard..."
"Do you still rember the gunpowder case in Shangjin City?"
"Captain Bureau’s n once again sneaked into the mountains to investigate and surprisingly discovered two villages manufacturing gunpowder. Hence, the Yunyang garrison assembled troops and dispatched over two thousand n to Zhushan..."
"But on the day of their arrival, martial heroes from the pugilistic world and wicked Magicians set fires and created chaos in Zhushan County..."
"The garrison troops were ordered to enter the city to maintain order, but they encountered a gunpowder ambush on the way, suffering heavy casualties. At the sa ti, a large number of natives erged from the mountains, amassing forces of over ten thousand..."
"Currently, the Heavenly Saint Sect has taken over Zhushan County town, slaughtering all officials, opening the granaries, and constructing fortifications."
"The court’s reinforcents are held at bay, as they exploit the mountainous terrain and lay gunpowder traps along the way, resulting in a standoff."
"Inside Yunyang Prefecture city, due to the prior arrests of trouble-making natives, this incited dissatisfaction among the locals, leading to chaos. Moreover, infiltrators from the pugilistic world also caused havoc, setting fires, and murdering people, and at present, the entire Yunyang Prefecture is under martial law..."
"In the Southwest, Tangya Tusi City and Bozhou Tusi of the Yang Family have successively revolted, no longer pledging allegiance. Although other Tusi did not join them, they expelled Han officials and burnt down the postal stations..."
"This incident has affected the entire Southwest of Divine State."
Hearing Sha Lifei recount this, everyone glanced at each other, knowing that there were troubles ahead, but they didn’t anticipate the magnitude of the situation.
Of course, these were just the known facts.
The specific details, however, remained unknown.
Li Yan suddenly thought of sothing, his eyebrows furrowing, "Near Yichang, there are also primarily native gatherings in the mountains, have they too fallen?"
"Not yet."
Sha Lifei shook his head, "Those Tusi among themselves always have deep-seated conflicts, with many entrenched in blood feuds; how could they possibly unite?"
"So are watching, so seize the chaos to steal grain, repair Tusi City, while so still remain loyal to the court and have not erged on a large scale."
"But if the situation deteriorates, Yichang will definitely have major problems!"
...
The situation was dire, so the group decided not to wait any longer.
After resupplying at the ferry crossing, they imdiately set off.
Traveling down the Han River, they directly witnessed the impacts of war.
The river was filled with many more ships, all moving hastily.
So were coming from Yunyang, mostly passenger ships, filled with panicked people clearly wanting to flee to other places to avoid the war...
There were also many heading north, primarily rchant ships transporting supplies, since the onset of war tightens the availability of various resources...
The wide river was sotis even congested.
Of course, more people ant more problems.
Leaving Xiangyang, passing Yicheng County, and traveling for a few more hours, they encountered another blockade ahead in the river channel.
It was sunset by then, and nurous ships, large and small, filled the entire river; smoke was even rising in the distance.
"Brother Lv San, see what’s going on?"
Li Yan sensed sothing was wrong and imdiately signaled.
The hawk, having been trained for several months, was already full of spirituality, perched beside the cabin window. With a whistle from Lv San, the hawk imdiately took flight, soaring high into the sky.
Watching the hawk dance in the sky, Lv San slightly furrowed his brow and spoke, "There are ships up ahead, so capsized and on fire, and many people are fighting and killing each other."
Old Man Zhang also entered the cabin at this mont and, hearing this, spoke solemnly, "Gentlen, please wait a mont. I’ll send soone to gather information."
Having said that, he yelled outside, "Blackie, check out what’s happening up ahead!"
"Yes, Master Zhang!"
A young, dark-skinned ship worker responded and set out.
He took out a triangular red Order Flag with "Zhang" written on it, tied it behind him, and then picked up a long bamboo pole. With a few running steps along the side of the ship, he plunged the pole into the water and vaulted forward.
The ship worker, using the pole to leap between ships, displayed the red Order Flag fluttering in the air, his movents agile like a flying swallow.
Interestingly, the people on other ships didn’t seem to mind and even deliberately made space for him to use for leverage.
"Fast Ship Zhang" explained, "I still have so reputation here on the Han River; when my ship workers go to gather information, they’ll share it with others too, helping each other out."
Hearing this, Sha Lifei gave a thumbs up, "Indeed, the pugilistic world of the north and south has its own customs. Senior Zhang, you really have a strong reputation!"
"You flatter , gentlen."
Old Man Zhang made a polite remark, then his expression turned solemn as he spoke gravely, "Gentlen, with the outbreak of war, the river will eventually be regulated by the governnt, making transport even more inconvenient."
"After this stretch, I estimate we will reach a waterway by tomorrow afternoon that leads into Jingn, but that waterway passes through the mountains. Recently, so strange incidents have frightened people away from entering it."
"Oh, what kind of strange incidents?"
Li Yan, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, inquired.
"No one is certain."
Old Man Zhang sighed and shook his head, "That waterway is winding and often changes its course due to sudden mountain floods, sotis different each year, only the experienced dare to enter."
"Just last month, so debris floated out from the mouth of the river, all charred limbs and corpses. There are rumors that a monstrous presence in the mountains is releasing ghostly fires to harm people."
"I was initially skeptical, but due to needing to urgently deliver goods to Jingzhou, I risked entering that waterway."
"Accompanied by an experienced hand, I saw with my own eyes phosphorus fires rising from the river, burning their ship to nothing but ashes."
"I also had a worker who saw dead bodies in the water, he was so frightened that day he lost his soul, and once he got ho, he never dared to board a ship again..."
"Oh?"
Li Yan seed to think of sothing, quickly pulled out a booklet given by Gu Hanzi, and asked, "After that waterway, is there a town called Zhu Family Castle?"
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